Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 34

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on  it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 34 


Another one of my favourites from when I was a teenager.

This Psalm falls into six parts:


V. 1-3
Exaltation of the Lord

V. 4-7
Testimony of Deliverance from fear & the enemy

V. 8-10
Encouraging people to seek the Lord for themselves

V. 11-14
Advice on how to come before God



V. 15-18
The Reaction of God towards the Righteous & the Unrighteous

V. 19-22
The Results of the Righteous & Unrighteous Life


To me the whole psalm is written because of the knowledge found in these verses 19 - 22

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

Exaltation
The Psalmist desires that everyone would worship the True God.
He starts by giving His Adoration but then comes to wanting everyone to experience what he has.


Testimony & Encouragement
He tells what God has done & encourages people to turn to God.


Advice
He gives basic advice on how to have the proper awe and reverence towards God.

God's Reaction
How God treats us as righteous in His sight when we have truly turned to trust Him, compared with how He must treat us if we do not.


Results
The hand of comfort, healing & protection is on us.
God will bring us through all the tribulation others will put on us.

Basic Good Advice to Start your Christian Life

Surely when all of this Psalm is understood and acknowledged then you and I can truly say with the Psalmist: